Jacob MurphyNot so long ago Vortex entered the world of optics with a lot of skepticism. Could a company really produce reasonable quality optics for such an affordable price? Over time, they have proven that their rifle scopes and other optics are far above par when it comes to quality and they do it for less than any other company.
Much of what makes Vortex such a high-quality optic is their manufacturing. Though they are an American based company, many of their products are manufactured in Japan. It just so happens they are made in the same production facility as the well respected and much costlier Nightforce scopes.
That brings us to the Vortex Crossfire II and what makes it potentially the best rifle scope in its class and price. There are a number of options when it comes to the Crossfire II including various magnification ranges and reticle options. For the purposes of this article, we are interested in their illuminated rifle scope.
Construction
At its core, the Crossfire II is built on a one-piece machined 1” tube. This is what grants this scope its incredibly rugged and highly durable frame. The overall length of the scope is right at a foot long with the largest diameter being the 40mm objective lens. This allows you to use a variety of mounting options and even lower profile rings when mounting on platforms like the AR-15.
Lens Quality
What makes the Vortex Crossfire II so amazing is its extremely high-quality glass. For everything to come together, they have to start with lenses that are impeccable in their quality. Otherwise, everything else you added would be worthless.
After getting perfect glass, they add their own proprietary multi-coat to the lenses. Not just the objective like some companies but everywhere that air touches glass gets a coating. This makes the overall image much brighter, clearer, and more vibrant.
This coating filters the light spectrum in a way that makes images pop while also giving the glass an anti-reflective quality. It even helps reduce fogging issues and condensation but it is only one step in that process.
Durability & Weather Resistance
As stated above, the Crossfire II starts with a once piece aircraft aluminum tube coated with a matte hard-anodized finish. This maximized optical quality while ensuring the scope is rugged enough to handle rifle recoil and any abuse it may see in the field. It is also the first step ensuring this riflescope is completely watertight.
But watertight would not be enough for Vortex. In order to be the best rifle scope, the Crossfire II needs to keep everything out. Fog, dust, moisture, all of those could destroy the finely crafted mechanisms of the scope. So, Vortex has sealed the entire scope with O-Rings and then purged the interior with Argon. This keeps everything protected and incapable of failure short of extreme damage.
Features and Function
At its core, the Crossfire II is a simple variable power scope ranging from 3 to 9x but it doesn’t stop there. This is a feature-loaded scope guaranteed to get you the utmost repeatable accuracy and dependability.
Though you can get the Crossfire II in a variety of reticles, their most impressive is their V-Brite reticle. Using the included CR2023 battery, the center dot of the slightly duplexed reticle lights up a bright red. The power of this dot is adjustable for shooting in various light conditions or can be run without illumination when not needed.
In addition to the illumination, the Crossfire II uses turret adjustments in 1/4 MOA increments with a solid lock on each quarter MOA. Both windage and elevation are adjustable for a full 60 MOA of adjustment, far more than you are likely to ever need shooting most any distance. Turrets have a zero-reset and can be capped and locked as needed.
For focus and parallax adjustment, the Crossfire II has a torrent mounted atop the eyepiece that allows you to adjust from 100 yards to infinity. While this will somewhat affect closer range shots, you generally will not need as tight a focus for anything less than a hundred yards. It should be expected that any scope of this nature will fair poorly at shots that are near point-blank range.
Eye relief is a generous 3.8 inches, allowing you to get your head far enough away from the scope to prevent any recoil related injuries. This should do fine for rifles into the .308/.270 range and maybe a little more. For rifles with excessive recoil, some may prefer to look for an optic with a longer eye-relief.
What’s in the Box?
Each Crossfire II V-Brite Rifle Scope is shipped with a battery, lens caps, and a cleaning cloth. Though everything is pretty standard, the included caps are a bargain! But that isn’t all it comes with. Every Vortex scope comes with their VIP (Very Important Promise) Warranty. No card to fill out, no need for a receipt, for the entire lifetime of the scope, they will take care of you. It’s even transferable if you sell the scope or hand it down to the next generation.
And that very well may be the case. With its solid construction and quality manufacturing, the Crossfire II may be a scope that outlasts the current generation of shooters and becomes a relic of our love of long-range shooting.
Vortex Crossfire II Conclusion
You are welcome to read any number of our rifle scope reviews but you will be hard-pressed to find a scope with the quality of the Vortex Crossfire II anywhere near its price. These are simply some of the best dollar-for-dollar scopes on the market. While they have yet to reach the renown and price point of some of their main competitors, they are heading that way. It’s probably best to pick one up while they are still this affordable.
